South Korea’s Lotte World Tower is a record setter, and that deserves a pretty grand opening.

The tower is the country’s tallest (555 metres), has the world’s highest glass-bottom observatory (478 metres), and has the world’s tallest and fastest double-decker elevator – “which whisks passengers from the basement to the 121st-floor observation deck in one minute, or at 10 meters per second”.

That’s according to CNN, but I’m most impressed with the firework display that accompanied the opening of the tower earlier this month.

Look at this choreography going down in the nation’s capital, Seoul:

Some more facts on that elevator everyone is excited about:

Consisting of two attached cabins stacked on top of each other, it simultaneously carries passengers to separate floors…

Boasting twice the capacity of a conventional elevator — each cabin holds 52 passengers — the tower’s lift directly connects the basement and the observation deck, skipping the floors in between which are full of shopping complexes, offices, and even a “seven star” hotel…

Inside the lift cabins, it feels like a video game — 15 OLED displays offer a virtual tour of Seoul during the 60-second ride.

Seven stars? We’ve gone too far.

A quick look at the tower when it isn’t lit up with fireworks:

Marvellous.

[source:cnn]